Oxford University says the trial of the AstraZeneca vaccine on children has been halted in the United Kingdom amid fears of links to a rare blood clot.
While the researchers insist there are “no safety concerns” in the trial, they said they would await additional data from the UK’s medicines and healthcare products regulatory agency before resuming their work.
The news follows a statement from the world health organization (WHO) on Tuesday that the “risk-benefit” balance for AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine was still “largely” positive.
Previously, an official of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) claimed there was a “clear connection” between the AstraZeneca vaccine and rare blood clots.
However, EMA’s official position remains undecided, the agency said it was still reviewing data and had not reached any conclusion.
Last month more than a dozen European countries suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine citing safety concerns before resuming, following re-endorsement by the regulator.
On March 24, the pharmaceutical company recalculated its data from that study and concluded the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine was 76 percent effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19, instead of the 79 percent it had claimed earlier.
This, as the company, sought to address concerns that it had published incomplete interim data.
While millions of doses of the vaccine have been administered, small numbers of people have developed blood clots, prompting countries to suspend inoculations.
On March 12, Sweden and Latvia became the latest nations to halt the rollout, following moves by Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Denmark, Norway, and The Netherlands, among others.
